BATON ROUGE, June 23, 2016—Dawn Starns, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, released the following statement today concerning a proposed tax increase on small businesses:
“NFIB applauds the members of the Louisiana Legislature who have worked tirelessly the past six months to try and find solutions to our state’s fiscal crisis.
“Unfortunately, lawmakers had little choice but to pass a temporary tax increase to get us out of the deep hole we were in.
“We have to tell the governor ‘no.’ We can’t afford another tax increase. He needs to learn a lesson every small-business owner learns sooner or later: You can’t spend your way out of debt.
“The Legislature has raised nearly $300 million of the $600 million the governor asked for going into this second special session. That’s on top of the roughly $1.2 billion during the first special session.
“Small business owners, the state’s job creators, will pay a significant portion of those taxes.
“We encourage the Legislature to stand firm and tell Governor Edwards enough is enough. We have to make him understand that you can’t balance the budget on the backs of small business.”
NFIB is the state’s leading small-business association. To learn more, visit www.NFIB.com/LA or follow @NFIB_LA on Twitter.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Louisiana
530 Lakeland Drive, Suite 201
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-218-6847
Twitter: @NFIB_LA
